Monday, December 30, 2013

I've been trying to capture these for quite a while. Susan did some for me yesterday as part of her 29 Cactus project. So, now it was my turn. I want mine to be purplish…they do look purplish in the morning and at night sometimes.

This is a "first coat"…too dark but will work with it tomorrow and maybe I'll even try to do the light and shadow in the right place….but then, maybe not.

Richard wanted to go to the Salton Sea so we decided to go to Bombay Beach which is on the other side of the Sea to where Satlton City is which Jim and I had already visited. You see a lot more of the sea going this way. The Sea was created by a flood in 1905, in which water from the Colorado River flowed into the area.

It was initially seen as a good thing to have this inland sea in a desert area and became a recreational area with yacht clubs and beaches that rivalled Palm Springs. Fish were introduced and the fishing was apparently fabulous. With agricultural run off created salinity it has now become a "dead" area and has massive fish and bird die offs.

Most people have abandoned Bombay Beach….leaving a rather odd assortment of people and very few businesses. No gas station so people tend to get around on golf carts, two small corner stores, and a restaurant and bar called "Ski Inn"….water skiing was big at one time. Now, all boats are banned from the Sea because of further pollution concerns.

We had lunch (Cheeseburgers…very homemade like) there and Jim and Richard had a couple of games of pool on the warped table. The whole place is a a time warp so that made sense! The customers were a combination of the locals and the curious like ourselves.

We sat at the bar beside the woman with the red hat. She was quite talkative and seemed to have a steady supply of drinks bought by locals and visitors.

There's a tradition of writing something on a dollar bill and taping it to the walls or ceiling…we made a contribution.

An old time music playing machine.

Menu was in a ripped duo-tang.

The owner and barman. Interesting the way the drinks were created. A glass full of ice, then liquor filled to almost the top, then about an ounce of mixer. $3 a drink.

Richard photographing Dad, the pool shark.

Our dollar contribution….a line from a favourite play of ours, "Juno and the Paycock" by Sean O'Casy.

Richard's contribution.

The "Ski Inn" exterior….notice the golf cart.

Photos from "the Hood" of Bombay Beach. There is a dyke that keeps the Sea from flooding it….the cyclists are on the dyke.

When we came home, Richard made up jalapeño Margaritas as a prelude to a Mexican meal at Las Casuelas. Then we watched this documentary (available on iTunes")…worth a watch for sure!

This offbeat and often humorous documentary tells the story of the accidental lake and environmental catastrophe known as the Salton Sea, located in the desert of Southern California, USA.

Once known as the “California Riviera”, the Salton Sea is now called one of America’s worst ecological disasters: a fetid, stagnant, salty lake, that coughs up dead fish and birds by the thousands in frequent die-offs that occur. However, amongst the ruins of this man-made mistake, a few remaining eccentrics (a roadside nudist, a religious folk artist, a Hungarian revolutionary, and real estate speculators) struggle to keep a remodeled version of the original Salton Sea dream alive.

The film shares these people's stories and their difficulties in keeping their unique community alive, as the nearby cities of Los Angeles and San Diego attempt to take the agricultural water run-off that barely sustains the Salton Sea.

The film ultimately explores the historical, economic, political, and environmental issues that face the Salton Sea, while taking a closer look at the people who have chosen to live in what they see as a surreal paradise.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Richard had a great day out and got lots of exercise. Took in the Palm Springs Art Museum, got to the Marilyn statue…all by bicycle. After dinner, we went to the Camelot movie house…quite a cool old movie place where you can take a drink to your seat. We all took wine and just so much fun to be able to do that. We saw Inside Llewyn Davis…Richard's choice and really enjoyed it.

Wine in a movie theatre…great!

Then, Richard took us to The Parker for a drink. We had Italian Riviera Mojitos. Great we can walk there. Must go there for lunch or dinner.